The present invention relates to ambulatory suspension systems for use during therapy.
Ambulatory suspension systems are used to assist the therapist during gait therapy of patients. These systems allow patients to gain strength and confidence by offsetting a percentage of body mass and providing balancing support. Such suspension systems provide incremental body weight support and primarily focus on gait training. The main application of these systems is to help patients who are unable to support their own weight and thus ambulate without assistance. Partial weight bearing devices are also used by patients to assist in ambulatory movement, by patients with spinal cord injuries, and by patients who lack upper body strength to support themselves.
In the field of gait therapy and balance training, there have been examples of the usage of partial weight bearing devices. These devices facilitate walking of patients in the early stages of neurological recovery.
An incremental body weight support system sold by Z Lift Corporation of Austin, Tex. utilizes a support system that allows for change in the amount of body weight supported while the patient is exercising.
An unweighting harness operation system sold by Biodex Medical Systems of Shirley, N.Y. uses similar principles, and is used during partial weight bearing gait therapy of patients as they relearn walking functions.
A motorized overhead harness system of similar nature has been proposed by Monash University and can be used for safety and weight relief during early stages in the rehabilitation of patients with gait disorders. This system has been experimentally used with patients who need amputee rehabilitation.
Colgate et al U.S. Pat. No. 5,952,796 shows easy lifting by devices known as Cobots. These devices are applied for direct physical interaction between a person and a general purpose robot manipulator. This specific apparatus is also known as a collaborative robot and may assume several configurations common to conventional robots.
Wannasuphoprasit et al U.S. Pat. No. 6,241,462 shows a mechanical apparatus with a high performance {grave over ( )} for raising and lowering a load and controlling the {grave over ( )} so that its operation is responsive to and intuitive for a human operator.
All of these systems can provide some weight bearing relief during ambulatory movement. However, none of the systems allows free ambulatory movement in all directions. None of these systems can continuously monitor the axial load and sudden force changes in different directions indicating a patient falling. Slips and falls remain one of the leading losses in worker compensation claims in the United States and worldwide. Falls may lead to significant morbidity (hip and pelvic fracture) and possibly death. Suspension devices that can help patients during exercise sessions of stair climbing are not presently available.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a novel ambulatory suspension system that can monitor and prevent the fall of the patients during rehabilitation and exercise.
It is also an object to provide a novel apparatus that the users can use to freely move in planar region and climb up and down a number of stairs.
A further object is to provide such a system which can also be used as a teaching device for ambulatory training, and to improve balance and increase safety during ambulatory movement and stair climbing.